A bag-valve-mask (BVM) is an essential airway management device found in most emergency and operating rooms, as well as emergency medical service organizations, worldwide. The BVM is a hand-held device often used, either with a facemask or in conjunction with another airway management device, such as an endotracheal tube (ET) or laryngeal mask airway (LMA), to provide oxygen and manually resuscitate a patient, for example, until a mechanical ventilator is attached.
Through proper ventilation technique, an operator can use a BVM to administer the right amount of oxygenated air to the patient through constant and steady manual pumping of the bag. However, proper ventilation technique generally requires comprehensive training. Nonetheless, even experienced operators can provide improper and inconsistent ventilation of the patient, and more specifically, hyperventilate a patient by over excessive manual pumping of the bag. Hyperventilation or over excessive bagging can result in reduced blood flow to vital organs and even brain ischemia.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,947 discloses a bag-valve-mask (BVM) device with a flow control valve interposed between the patient mask and bag to limit the gas flow from the bag to the mask. U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,840 discloses a directional control valve housing in a squeeze bag resuscitator that includes a duck-bill element that permits inhaling from the duck-bill opens, and spontaneous exhaling as the periphery of the duck-bill is pushed away from its seat. U.S. Pat. No. RE30,063 discloses a high pressure safety valve that automatically closes when high pressure conditions exist.
Thus, there is a need for a manual ventilation device that can provide proper and consistent rate of ventilation.